UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC bars police from coercive action against journalist

Question 1

Freedom of the press in India is not separately enumerated but is read into the freedom of speech and expression, which may be restricted only on the grounds expressly enumerated in clause (2) of Article 19. Consider the following grounds:
1. Friendly relations with foreign States
2. Decency or morality
3. Protection of the interests of the general public
4. Contempt of court
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as grounds enumerated in Article 19(2)?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

1 and 4 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Question 2

A restriction on the freedom of speech and expression in the interests of 'decency or morality', and a restriction on the right to practise any profession or carry on any trade in the interests of 'the general public', are traceable respectively to which one of the following pairs of clauses of Article 19?

Accepted Answer

Clause (2) and clause (6)

Answer

Clause (2) and clause (5)

Answer

Clause (3) and clause (6)

Answer

Clause (4) and clause (5)

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989:
1. The Act excludes the application of the anticipatory bail provision of the criminal procedure law to a person accused of an offence under the Act.
2. The Act provides that no preliminary enquiry shall be required for the registration of a First Information Report under it.
3. An appeal against an order of a Special Court granting or refusing bail lies to the Supreme Court.
4. A public servant who is himself a member of a Scheduled Caste and wilfully neglects his duties under the Act is punishable with imprisonment of not less than six months.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 and 4 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 4 only

Question 4

Under which one of the following sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is a complaint of harassment of a victim, informant or witness required to be tried separately from the main case and concluded within two months?

Accepted Answer

Section 15A, on rights of victims and witnesses

Answer

Section 4, on punishment for neglect of duties

Answer

Section 14A, on appeals to the High Court

Answer

Section 18A, on arrest and preliminary enquiry

Question 5

With reference to the Supreme Court's 2026 interim order in favour of journalist Abhishek Upadhyay and the earlier 2024 round of litigation involving the same journalist, consider the following statements:
1. In the earlier 2024 proceedings the Supreme Court had granted the same journalist protection from arrest and observed that criminal cases should not be instituted merely because journalistic writing is perceived as criticism of the government.
2. The First Information Report that led to the 2026 interim order was registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police over an alleged road-rage incident in Ghaziabad and invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
3. Unlike the 2024 round, the protection granted in 2026 was confined strictly to the First Information Report already registered and did not extend to any fresh First Information Report.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 6

Consider the following statements regarding the Supreme Court's August 2026 interim order in the matter of journalist Abhishek Upadhyay:
1. The order was passed by a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.
2. The Commissioner of Police, Ghaziabad, was directed to file a compliance report before the next date of hearing.
3. While barring coercive action, the Court simultaneously quashed the First Information Report and transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
4. Counsel for the petitioner submitted before the Court that he was seeking only a fair investigation and not quashing of the First Information Report at that stage.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

3 and 4 only

Question 7

In 2021, while quashing the sedition First Information Report registered against journalist Vinod Dua, the Supreme Court held that he was entitled to protection in terms of the safeguards laid down in which one of the following judgments?

Accepted Answer

Kedar Nath Singh v State of Bihar (1962)

Answer

Romesh Thappar v State of Madras (1950)

Answer

Brij Bhushan v State of Delhi (1950)

Answer

Maneka Gandhi v Union of India (1978)

Question 8

In early 2021, First Information Reports were registered over tweets concerning the violence during the farmers' tractor rally in Delhi, naming a sitting Member of Parliament along with a group of journalists. How many journalists were named in those First Information Reports?

Accepted Answer

Six

Answer

Four

Answer

Five

Answer

Eight

Question 9

The power to quash a First Information Report is exercised under the provision saving inherent powers in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Consider the following statements about that provision:
1. It saves the power to make such orders as may be necessary to give effect to any order under the Sanhita.
2. It confers the inherent power equally on the High Court and on the Court of Session.
3. It saves the power to make such orders as may be necessary to prevent abuse of the process of any Court.
4. It saves the power to make such orders as may be necessary otherwise to secure the ends of justice.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

2 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 and 4 only

Answer

3 only

Question 10

Consider the following statements comparing the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 with the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973:
1. The provision saving the inherent powers of the High Court is numbered Section 528 in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, whereas the corresponding provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was Section 482.
2. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was introduced in Parliament in August 2023 to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and also altered provisions relating to bail and to the powers of police and Magistrates.
3. Unlike the Code of Criminal Procedure, the new Sanhita abolished the inherent powers of the High Court, so that a First Information Report can now be challenged only in writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 11

The Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation is appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of a statutory Committee under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. Who chairs that Committee?

Accepted Answer

The Prime Minister

Answer

The Chief Justice of India

Answer

The Central Vigilance Commissioner

Answer

The Union Minister of Home Affairs

Question 12

India was placed 151st, an improvement from 159th the previous year, in the most recent edition of the World Press Freedom Index. Which one of the following correctly describes what this Index is?

Accepted Answer

An annual ranking of 180 countries and territories compiled by Reporters Without Borders

Answer

A biennial ranking of United Nations member States compiled by UNESCO for its World Trends report

Answer

An annual ranking of media plurality compiled by the International Federation of Journalists for its member unions

Answer

A periodic ranking of internet and media freedom compiled by the International Telecommunication Union

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC bars police from coercive action against journalist

Q4. Under which one of the following sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is a complaint of harassment of a victim, informant or witness required to be tried separately from the main case and concluded within two months?

Q7. In 2021, while quashing the sedition First Information Report registered against journalist Vinod Dua, the Supreme Court held that he was entitled to protection in terms of the safeguards laid down in which one of the following judgments?

Q8. In early 2021, First Information Reports were registered over tweets concerning the violence during the farmers' tractor rally in Delhi, naming a sitting Member of Parliament along with a group of journalists. How many journalists were named in those First Information Reports?

Q11. The Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation is appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of a statutory Committee under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. Who chairs that Committee?

Q12. India was placed 151st, an improvement from 159th the previous year, in the most recent edition of the World Press Freedom Index. Which one of the following correctly describes what this Index is?